Sunday, June 19, 2011

Things I Learned From Riding A Horse

Friday, I rode a horse for the first time ever. Aside from being a lovely break from the hospital, I learned a few things on our one-hour journey through the beautiful mountains of Sundance.

* Horses emit their own monster sillage. It made me feel rough and rangy. I like that.

* Horses get cranky, too. My horse, Chub, was not excited about going on this walk with yet another strange person on his back. He snorted and groaned and kept looking at me like, 'if it wasn't for you, I could be napping at the ranch.'

* I like being in control. Yes, I learned how to use my spurs and reigns to guide Chub. But a couple of times, he took off on a fast trot. Just because he could.

* Don't make the 'giddy up' clicking noise with your mouth unless you want the horse to run.

* If your horse is cranky, let him stop and take a bite of grass occasionally.

* Confident posture matters. Sometimes, the first step to success is acting like you know what you're doing.

* Make sure your hat has a stampede string, because it will blow off your head with the slightest breeze.

1 comment:

I really enjoy horseback riding. My papa used to take me, back when I was just a tiny little thing (starting at age 3). I keep telling my husband that if we ever hit it rich, one of the things on my "obscenely rich wish list" is to own my own horse.